#What CMS do most companies use?

[itphobia]

Choosing the Right CMS for Your Website: Factors to Consider and Key Features to Look for

Choosing the right CMS for your website is a very important task before starting a website. Before opting for Drupal development services or services that involve any other CMS, you should ensure that you’re making the right choice. Selecting the wrong content management system is a common mistake website owners do (also, a quite expensive one, by the way). So if you don’t want to migrate your…

[ladysroom-zaza]

can you write about sub!reader x pussydrunk!giselle? how she’ll go down on reader anywhere and everywhere, especially at the beach if somehow readers bottom gets undone “out of the sudden” iykwim — and if reader has a strap she’ll eat/please the other hole before riding reader and stuffing her/your face in her/your boobs

Two things are sure in life: death and Giselle eating you out at any chance she gets, and on the first one I have doubts. No, but seriously, the girl is obsessed by your pussy, I don't if it's the taste or the scent, but she can't live a day without doing it at least once.

And she's so obsessed that she has done it everywhere: at your house obviously, at her dorm, at her company, in an empty street, in a museum...do you get what I mean, right? She doesn't give a fuck, when she's the mood (always), she will just spread and use her tongue to give you pleasure.

Aeri loves summer tho, and the reason has to be that she can look at your gorgeous body in a bikini and literally go crazy. She will get real touchy. "Mmh, baby, let me help you with the sun cream" or "Baby girl, let me give you a massage" are just some of the most comment excuses she used to touch your body.

And as if it was magic, every single time your bottom gets undone. You just sighs, knowing that in a couple of seconda Giselle will make her move. And in fact, her tongue is already lapping around your pussy, her hands to keep your legs widened and still.

As a sommelier of wine, she will gets her time, savoring your skin, your folds and finally your inside, touching every cm with her tongue, eventually getting drunk on it, not stopping even if you already cum 4 or 5 times. Her hunger for your pussy is not something that she satisfy quickly.

And when you'll beg her to let you rest, a grin will appear on her face. "Fine, but can you take something from my bag? I brought a toy for me", she asks you, giving you candy eyes. You nods, everything is good to get a bit of peace.

But it was actually a trap: the moment you lean forward to get the strap, her tongue attacks again; this time is the turn of your ass. Spreading your cheeks, Gigi will start another session of savouring.

Her expert tongue once again is able to make you cum, also with the help of her hands, rubbing against your pussy, until your legs just quit. Now, you are really exhausted, so tired that you don't even notice the japanese girl while makes you wear the strap.

"Come on, sweetie, I still want to have fun", she teases you, while slowly sitting on that huge strap. You let her do, still breathless from too many orgasms, but once again, you have difficulties in recovering and we all know who's to blame.

Given that riding your strap was not enough for Giselle perverted mind, she decide to choke between her boobs. "Ohh, baby, suck my tits, be a good girl", she whines, pushing with strenght your head in her chest.

And it's such a sweet pleasure to stay between those two soft pillows, that are continuously hitting and slapping your face. "Baby, I'm cummiiiing...", she moans loudly, finally stopping her madness and laying on your body, your face totally covered by her boobs. Your girlfriend is definitely a pervert, but you won't change for anyone in this world.

[quimichi]

NSFW [ SFW if NSFW isn’t okay- ] Malleus Hc? [ male reader if your comfy with tat, if not gn is good too :3 ] ignore if your not taking requests or this isn’t okay-

. . . . . . . . . ╰──╮MY DEAREST ╭──╯ . . . . . . . . .

(N)SFW MALLEUS BF HCS

Malleus x Gn!Reader

A/n: I do male reader, but since you said gn reader is fine too I did gn reader! I hope it's ok but obviously I can still do a male reader ♡

SFW

: ̗̀➛ first of all, damn you're lucky like---

: ̗̀➛ the fact that you're now in a relationship with the most powerful being of the school is mad scary for so many. After all, you're just a magicless human.

: ̗̀➛ but you are so much more to Malleus himself, and he takes a pot of pride in being your partner, boyfriend sounds so...weird to him

: ̗̀➛ Lilia btw is a super proud mom

: ̗̀➛ i have the add the adorable gargoyle stuff because it's a Malleus thing. He always takes his time and is open minded to youe interest, so obviously you are too! Whatever it might be he will try and study it to understand you better

: ̗̀➛ please help him tho, he may get a little lost in places of the internet if he ever trys to learn more on there

: ̗̀➛ insist on you two sleeping together. And INSISTS that you and Grim move to his dorm, his room to be specific, because the conditions you live in? We don't talk about them---

: ̗̀➛ once he got a taste of cuddling, it was over for you. He can and will get clingy at night, pulling you into his chest so he can hold you

: ̗̀➛ very protective and somehow greedy. Your attention is his, his animalistic dragon side may come out there but you can deal with it, so far that is-

: ̗̀➛ gets you way to expensive presents, mostly with pretty gems. Things like jewelry, or even other decorative pieces. All in your favorite color(s)

: ̗̀➛ loves to take late night walks with you, having your arms linked while slowly walking beside each other enjoying not only the atmosphere but each other's company

: ̗̀➛ will also read to you if you ever ask for it. Having you falling asleep right there in his arms ro his soothing voice really does sound like a dream

: ̗̀➛ lol he literally told Sebek to also protect you from any harm that comes if he can't be around you (which is like so rare he's glued to your side)

: ̗̀➛ baby can't use his phone right and would think that if he speaks to his phone with the chat open it will magically send the text to you, like you always do with voice mails---

: ̗̀➛ or he has his front camera open and doesn't know how to turn the view so he literally turns the whole phone and trys to blindly press the button

: ̗̀➛ he's so cute stfu

NSFW

: ̗̀➛ this guy is huge like---massive. You have to be around his size to really take it down good-

: ̗̀➛ rip to my fellow small people out there

: ̗̀➛ obviously he gives off big dick energy and this is what he has, a big dick. Like 9 inches, in cm that would be 22

: ̗̀➛ it's average in thickness but the length...damn: ̗̀➛ like i said before very protective, also meaning possessive. He will mark you up, with his smell and with any other sign he can. That's why he gets you the jewelry too. And also hickey's

: ̗̀➛ if you dont like those, he won't do any of them he respects you to much for this to push you into anything that you are not willing to at least try. Same with showing them, if you don't like people to know this way, he is very okay with this

: ̗̀➛ since he does love and respect you a lot, like literally adore and being obsessed with you, you will have the final word of anything. He is willing to try everything out of curiosity and will maybe bring something up himself, but won't MAKE you do anything. A no is a no after all

: ̗̀➛ so a no for him is definitely degration, like sry people who like it but no-

: ̗̀➛ [FEM REDER] a little yandere but would baby trap you at some point in life cause he knocks you up all the time with everything he has. So in the end, you are truly only his

: ̗̀➛ [MALE READER] would also let you take control once in a while. Yes, he is dominant for 99% but if you are also, just ask and take control he won't bite unless you want to, bite back even. Literally ruin this man's insides he will love it ♡

: ̗̀➛ seeing you so...rounded with his cum just makes him keep going, if you let him

: ̗̀➛ also, belly bulge. It's hypnotizing seeing himself going in and out of you, in and out...

: ̗̀➛ can go for so many rounds, because the Stamina he has is insane. Like he turns when you star begging for his dick inside you

: ̗̀➛ really loves to hear you, he knows you're obsessed with his voice but so is he with yours. He won't only whisper those dirty but also sweet things into your ear, making you weak. He wil also make you say things you were never expecting to say, without him forcing you. Same with the noises he can draw out

: ̗̀➛ He makes you shameless without even realizing it and it makes his brain go brrr

: ̗̀➛ to a point where Lilia heard it more than once-

[takerfoxx]

I'm so fucking confused what did the Rock do

It's a very long and complicated tale, but the short version, the Rock recently joined the board of directors for TKO (WWE's parent company) and SEEMINGLY (as we don't know the full behind the scenes story just yet) used his clout to push himself into the Wrestlemania main event, challenging his sort of cousin Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship and pushing aside Cody Rhodes, the guy that was supposed to be Roman's challenger, and thereby sabotaging a two-year story that everyone was invested in right when it was about to see it's conclusion. And people are pissed about it.

That's the short version. Here is the loooooonnnnnggggg version.

WWE has been plagued by a number of issues over the years (not the least being that it's been run by an actual rapist for the last four decades), but the two relevant issues is a tendency to rely on past their prime stars of yesterday at the expense of building new stars for today, and when they do want to build a new star, they have a bad habit of shoving their chosen golden boy down everyone's throat to everyone else's detriment in a nakedly inauthentic manner until the fans get sick of them (see: Ultimate Warrior, John Cena, and, most recently, Roman Reigns, who will become important later). Needless to say, they've had a lot of trouble getting the crowd behind what is known as the White Meat Babyface, or primary good guy.

The Rock started off as the latter, being introduced as Rocky Maivia, who was a wholesome good boy who was just so happy to be here. People saw through it and booed the fuck out of him. In rare case of the WWE actually listening and responding, they turned Rocky heel and let him vent his frustrations at the fans, which let everyone know that, holy shit, this guy is actually insanely charismatic and probably the best trash talker in the business! Thus, the Rock was born.

However, while he certainly earned his accolades during his heyday, his returns since haven't been so universally admired (see previous note about the WWE pushing the stars of yesterday). One instance about ten years ago involves him main eventing Wrestlemania against John Cena over CM Punk, who was the reigning WWE Champion at the time, and was quite annoyed. Okay, the Rock vs. John Cena could be excused on account of being that much of a dream match, but then they had CM Punk end his year long title run to the Rock so he and Cena could main event again, this time with the title on the line. This was one of the many issues that reportedly led to CM Punk walking out a few months later.

Now, let's move away from the Rock for a bit and talk about Roman Reigns, who was another example of the WWE ramming their chosen golden boy down everyone's throat. Like the Rock, he is part of the venerated Anoa'i Family, who are practically wrestling royalty with how many superstars they've produced (though they're not actually related by blood, but that doesn't matter, as those who marry or are adopted in are still considered full members of the clan).

Roman began as part of the massively popular trio known as the Shield, alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. And during their two year run, the Shield were kind of incredibly awesome. Three badasses closer than brothers just wrecking a path of destruction against all those who stood in their way, a perfect combination of violence and genuine comradery...right until Seth Rollins betrayed the group and they all became single stars.

Now, despite the WWE having high hopes for all three, Roman was clearly the anointed heir, despite being the least experienced of the three. Unfortunately, they went about this by making him essentially a John Cena clone. Smelling another corporate babyface about to be shoved down their throats, the fans turned on him and turned on him HARD, making him the most loathed face in wrestling for years despite always being treated by the company as a beloved hero. Finally, the decision was made to turn Roman Reigns heel, unleashing his dark side and turning him into the Tribal Chief, a sadistic and manipulative monster who's held an iron grip on the title for literally years. Needless to say, it has been a massive improvement, and he is now quite awesome (though people are sick of how long he's been champion, but that's neither here nor there).

Anyway, heel Roman has been champion for basically forever at this point, and it's been a question of who will eventually be the one to dethrone him, because whoever it is automatically becomes the biggest star in the business. And given what an accomplishment that is, there really can be no place it can happen other than the main event of Wrestlemania.

Enter Cody Rhodes.

Like Roman and the Rock, Cody also comes from a prestigious wrestling family. Cody is the son of the late, great Dusty Rhodes, the American Dream. And this pedigree has weighed heavily on him, both in and out of storyline.

Now, unlike his plain-looking and tubby father, Cody looks like he was grown in a lab to become the perfect WWE wrestler. Movie star looks, an absolutely ripped body, and physical charisma for days. Despite this, his first WWE run didn't go how he wanted. While he saw a fair amount of success, he never seemed to break out of the midcard and was eventually saddled with the loathed Stardust gimmick, which he absolutely hated, and after realizing that things weren't going to change, he decided to bet on himself and leave the WWE to prove everyone wrong.

This ended up working beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

To say that Cody was successful post WWE would be a gross understatement. Rebranding himself as the American Nightmare, Cody became the opposite of everything his father was, dressing in snappy suits and carrying himself in an arrogant, sadistic manner. He worked for a number of places, from TNA to Ring of Honor to New Japan, and saw massive success, winning multiple titles across multiple promotions and building himself as a force to be reckoned with. He was also the impetus for the historically significant All In event, in which a number of wrestlers from a number of different promotions banded together to put on the first non-WWE show to have over ten thousand people in attendance in over twenty years, which eventually led to the creation of AEW, which Cody was an intrinsic part of as well. Needless to say, Cody was cooking.

Unfortunately, his own way of doing things didn't mesh well with the AEW audience, and they turned on him pretty hard after a year or two. Eventually he left to return to the WWE, and a lot of people questioned if he was making a mistake, given how he was treated the last time.

However, his gamble had paid off. His worth had been proved, and now WWE was all in (pun intended) on Cody Rhodes. In contrast to the volatile AEW crowd, the WWE fans welcomed the prodigal son back with open arms. And surprising all cynics (including myself), this love continued strong even after the novelty of Cody Rhodes back wore off, probably bolstered by how carefully his storylines were plotted, some truly killer performances in the ring, and the respect garner by him being an absolutely fucking champ and wrestling Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match despite having a horribly torn pec.

Finally, the WWE had a White Meat babyface that the fans universally accepted and wanted to see more of, and they were going to capitalize. He won the Royal Rumble to rapturous applause and entered in a program with Roman Reigns to challenge him for his title at Wrestlemania. And unlike other challengers, he actually seemed like a credible threat. Much was made about how his father had also challenged for the same title but could never capture it, so he wanted to do what his father couldn't and finish the story. People were behind Cody all the way, and the time seemed right for Roman to finally fall and a new top star to be crowned.

And then Cody lost. Roman cheated, and Cody lost.

Needless to say, people were pissed. However, others said that maybe this was leading to a rematch at the following year's Wrestlemania, making his eventual victory all the sweeter. Certainly, WWE still seemed behind Cody, as he spent the next year in several high profile feuds that kept him looking strong, including going over Brock Lesnar of all people. And again, the fans remained behind him, when in past cases they would have turned on the guy by now. Believe me, this hadn't happened in a very long time.

But not all was well. There were rumbles that the Rock might be queuing up for a return one of these days, possibly to finally face Roman Reigns in another dream match to settle who the true Tribal Chief of the Anoa's family. People had been wanting that match for years, but for it to happen now, upsetting Cody's chance to finally finish his story? Well, that was the worst possible time. However, these rumors seemed to be nothing more than that. Just rumors.

And then CM Punk came back.

Now, Punk is a whole can of worms all in himself, and could easily fill a full post of his own. But the important thing is that he and Cody are very much dark reflections of each other, especially in how both were screwed over by WWE during their first runs, left under dark circumstances, and returned to the fans' adoration. And they both coveted that Wrestlemania main event.

In fact, during an awesome promo battle between the two, Punk specifically pointed out that he intended to do to Cody what the Rock had done to him ten years ago: be that bigger star who came back after not being around for a long time and take that Wrestlemania main event away. And sure enough, during the Royal Rumble, the final two in the ring were CM Punk and Cody Rhodes.

And Cody won. The first man in years to win back to back Rumbles. He singled out Roman Reigns as his target, cementing their Wrestlemania rematch. As for Punk, he had a main event of his own, as he was apparently scheduled to face Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Title at night 1 of Wrestlemania. It seemed that both of the prodigal sons were getting their wish!

And then CM Punk got hurt really bad and had to pull out of Wrestlemania.

Well, that sucks, but it shouldn't upset plans too badly. Seth could just wrestle someone else, and Cody's two year story could proceed like everyone wanted.

Well, we all know what happened next.

Yup. It happened. The Rock, likely with the backing of his new position on the TKO's board, had pushed himself into Cody's spot, while Cody (as it appears) will be replacing Punk to take on Seth Rollins instead. A two year story, flushed down the drain. Punk's words had turned out to be prophetic.

And while the fans were cheering in that video, once the buzz had worn off and people realized what had happened, that's when things got nasty. Over the last few days, people have turned on the Rock and turned on him HARD. Rocky sucks chants fill WWE events, #wewantcody trends for days, videos of the Rock get booed, and (unfortunately) even members of his family have gotten caught in the crossfire. People are NOT happy about this direction. Cody is their guy, and right when his story was going to be completed, right when Roman was going to be dethroned by the guy that everyone wanted to see beat him, this happens.

Plus, since then reports have been swirling that this decision was made by the TKO board, not WWE, with the Rock specifically pushing for it to "Save Wrestlemania." Which hasn't exactly warmed people to the idea.

Which is really funny, because the last time Roman Reigns and the Rock shared a ring together, it was in the middle of Roman's disastrous babyface run where the fans hated him, especially in Philadelphia, a city noted for its rebellious fans, and the WWE sent the Rock out to help Roman in hopes of changing their minds.

It didn't work.

And where is Wrestlemania this year? Oh right, Philadelphia.

This is going to be...interesting, to say the least.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Union pensions are funding private equity attacks on workers

On October 7–8, I'm in Milan to keynote Wired Nextfest.

If end-stage capitalism has a motto, it's this: "Stop hitting yourself." The great failure of "voting with your wallet" is that you're casting ballots in a one party system (The Capitalism Party), and the people with the thickest wallets get the most votes.

During the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese state would bill the families of executed dissidents for the ammunition used to execute their loved ones:

https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-the-Chinese-government-makes-the-families-of-executed-people-pay-for-the-cost-of-bullets

In end-stage capitalism, the dollars we spend to feed ourselves are used to capture the food supply and corrupt our political process:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/04/dont-let-your-meat-loaf/#meaty-beaty-big-and-bouncy

And the dollars we save for retirement are flushed into the stock market casino, a game that is rigged against us, where we are always the suckers at the table:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/25/derechos-humanos/#are-there-no-poorhouses

Everywhere and always, we are financing our own destruction. It's quite a Mr Gotcha moment:

https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha/

Now, anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop. We are living through a broad, multi-front counter-revolution to Reaganomics and neoliberal Democratic Party sellouts. The FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division are dragging Big Tech and Big Meat and Big Publishing into court. We're seeing bans on noncompete clauses, and high-profile government enforcers are publicly pledging never to work for corporate law-firms when they quit public service:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/09/nein-nein/#everything-is-miscellaneous

And of course, there's the reinvigoration of the labor movement! Hot Labor Summer is now Perpetual Labor September, with 75,000 Kaiser workers walking out alongside the UAW, SAG-AFTRA and 2,350 other groups of workers picketing, striking or protesting:

https://striketracker.ilr.cornell.edu/

But capitalism still gets a lick in. Union pension plans are some of the most important investors in private equity funds. Your union pension dollars are probably funding the union-busting, child-labor-employing, civilization-destroying Gordon Gecko LARPers who are also evicting you from the rental they bought and turned into a slum, and will then murder you in a hospice that they bought and turned into a slaughterhouse:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/26/death-panels/#what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-CMS

Writing for The American Prospect, Rachel Phua rounds up the past, present and future of union pension funds backing private equity monsters:

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-10-04-workers-funding-misery-private-equity-pension-funds/

Private equity and hedge funds have destroyed 1.3 million US jobs:

https://united4respect.org/press-release/people-who-work-at-walmart-sears-amazon-formerly-toys-r-us-more-join-forces-together-as-united-for-respect-2-2-2-2-5-3/

They buy companies and then illegally staff them with children:

https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20230217-1

They lobby against the minimum wage:

https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Insire-Brands-memo-on-15-wage.pdf

They illegally retaliate against workers seeking to unionize their jobsite:

https://www.hoteldive.com/news/dc-hotel-workers-enlist-us-representatives-to-fight-sofitel-union-busting/650396/

And they couldn't do it without union pension funds. Public service union pensions have invested $650 million with PE funds. In 2001, the share of public union pensions invested in PE was 3.5%; today, it's 13%:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B0vv26VEFmwtfw5ur6dSDMY8NftvZKij/

Giant public union funds like CalPERS are planning massive increases in their contributions to PE:

https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/newsroom/calpers-news/2023/calpers-preliminary-investment-return-fiscal-year-2022-23

This results in some ghastly and ironic situations. Aramark used funds from a custodian's union to bid against that union's members for contracts, in an attempt to break the union and force the workers to take a paycut to $11/hour:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-11-20/pension-fund-gains-mean-worker-pain-as-aramark-cuts-pay

Blackstone's investors include the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS). The PE ghouls who sucked Toys R Us dry were funded by Texas teachers.

Then there's KKR, one of the most rapacious predators of the PE world. Half of the investors in KKR's Global Infrastructure Investors IV fund are public sector pension funds. Those workers' money were spent to buy up Refresco (Arizona Iced Tea, Tropicana juices, etc), a transaction that immediately precipitated a huge spike in on-the-job accidents as KKR cut safety and increased tempo:

https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=1675674.015

Petsmart is the poster-child for PE predation. The company uses TRAPs ("TrainingRepaymentAgreementProvision") clauses to recreate indentured servitude, forcing workers to pay thousands of dollars to quit their jobs:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/04/its-a-trap/#a-little-on-the-nose

Why would a Petsmart employee want to quit? Petsmart's PE owner is BC Partners, and under BC's management, workers have been forced to work impossible hours while overseeing cruel animal abuse, including starving sick animals to death rather than euthanizing them, and then being made to sneak them into dumpsters on the way home from work so Petsmart doesn't have to pay for cremation. 24 of BC Partners' backers are public pension funds, including CalSTRS and the NYC Employees' Retirement System:

https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-06-02-days-of-plunder-morgenson-rosner-ballou-review/

PE buyouts are immediately followed by layoffs. One in five PE acquisitions goes bankrupt. Unions should not be investing in PE. But the managers of these funds defend the practice, saying they "facilitate dialog" with the PE bosses on workers' behalf.

This isn't total nonsense. Once upon a time, public pension fund managers put pressure on investees to force them to divest from Apartheid South Africa and tobacco companies. Even today, public pensions have successfully applied leverage to get fund managers to drop Russian investments after the invasion of Ukraine. And public pensions pulled out of the private prison sector, tanking the valuation of some of the largest players.

But there's no evidence that this leverage is being applied to pensions' PE billions. It's not like PE is a great deal for these pensions. PE funds don't reliably outperform the market, especially after PE bosses' sky-high fees are clawed back:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3623820

Pension funds could match or beat their PE returns by sticking the money in a low-load Vanguard index tracker. What's more, PE is getting worse, pioneering new scams like inflating the value of companies after they buy and strip-mine them, even though there's no reason to think anyone would buy these hollow companies at the price that the PE companies assign to them for bookkeeping purposes:

https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstqfcskz9o72ospzlds/opinion/why-does-private-equity-get-to-play-make-believe-with-prices

To inject a little verisimilitude into this obvious fantasy, PE companies sell their portfolio companies to themselves at inflated prices, in a patently fraudulent shell-game:

https://www.ft.com/content/646d00f4-af5d-4267-a436-54fb3bc1697b

What's more, PE funds aren't just bad bosses, they're also bad landlords. PE-backed funds have scooped up an appreciable fraction of America's housing stock, transforming good rentals into slums:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/27/extraordinary-popular-delusions/#wall-street-slumlords

PE is really pioneering a literal cradle-to-grave immiseration strategy. First, they gouge you on your kids' birth:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/27/crossing-a-line/#zero-fucks-given

Then, they slash your wages and steal from your paycheck:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3465723

Then, they evict you from your home:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/05/vulture-capitalism/#distressed-assets

And then they murder you as part of a scam they're running on Medicare:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/05/any-metric-becomes-a-target/#hca

As the labor movement flexes its muscle, it needs to break this connection. Workers should not be paying for the bullet that their bosses put through their skulls.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/05/mr-gotcha/#no-ethical-consumption-under-capitalism

My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!

[csuitebitches]

The Best Workout that Changed My Body (Model Workout)

Growing up, I was a chubby kid. As a teenager, I was “skinny-fat” - I had a tummy but lean arms and legs. I have tried everything to burn that belly fat off; right from detox teas, waist clinchers, sports, Pilates, limiting my calorie intake, weight lifting, strength training, eating only health food for months, lemon water, even K-Pop stars’ diets… you name it and I’ve probably done it.

Then I finally found something that worked out for me. I stumbled across it on Reddit, and I shared it with my friends, not thinking that it would actually work.

Except that it did.

A friend who had gained 10 kgs because of her thyroid lost nearly 8 kgs in a matter of a couple of months. Another friend - who’s quite skinny and petite and struggled with weight gain - saw her body get more toned in just a couple of weeks.

So I decided to try it out as well - and I could actually see a difference in just a week’s time (as crazy as this sounds). A few pants I had that I always felt a little insecure about wearing actually felt LOOSE at the waist! I couldn’t believe it!

Now, for a little disclaimer. The person who created these workouts happens to train models. They are specialised in model training- reducing waist cm, hips is their specialty. HOWEVER. They were accused of filming their clients in their gym bathroom. Their spouse eventually took over the company. But that still doesn’t sit right with me. So that means that I will not be buying any of the company’s products, even though the work outs are really effective and require minimum equipment.

So I did a little bit of sleuthing - and found 5 out of 6 of their workouts for free on Reddit.

I’m going to share the link that I found on Reddit. I am NOT responsible for uploading the files. I have no role to play in it. These have been available on Reddit for literally years. I have no idea who the original distributor is, either. Also, these videos are quite old. I’m sure that the new ones are different from these.

The workouts range from 20-60 minutes (most of them are at 40 minutes though). The best part is that you can do these anywhere.

The only equipment you really need:

- yoga mat

- Slide discs/ wash cloths

- Ankle weights

- 3 pound dumbbells

Here it is (the link)

The nutrition guide:

(I have not come up with this. Do not hold me responsible if you do not agree with what the trainer says).

1. Calorie intake: 1600 calories

2. No juice, rice, pasta, potatoes, bread 2-3 hours before you workout. If you must eat, it has to be low calorie protein or lean (eggs, protein shake, lean protein, salad, vegetables).

3. No carbs after 3 pm.

4. Dinner should be protein and vegetable based.

5. No protein for 1-2 hours after workout. Fruit juice, fruits, vegetables and starchy carbs are fine.

6. Only treadmill for cardio. Slow jogs. No weights for lower body, outside of the program. No lunges, squats or deadlifts. Yoga and Pilates are fine. I personally do 12-3-30.

How I use this routine:

Monday: workout 1

Tuesday: 12-3-30

Wednesday: workout 2

Thursday: 12-3-30

Friday: workout 3

Saturday: workout 4 +12-3-30

Sunday: 12-3-30 / yoga/ rest day

I take 5 days off in a month during my period. These workouts are also not crazy intense (I’m used to playing sports and being active in general) so I’m fine doing it everyday.

What is 12-3-30?

Treadmill workout where:

12- incline

3 - speed

30 - minutes

[olath124]

✨️TELL ME ABOUT YOUR OCS✨️

Random shot from my... At this point scary big stash of shots. And brace yourself... It's long.

♡Name: Violet Wright.

♡Nicknames: V, just V.

♡Age: 32

♡Pronouns: She, her.

♡Sexuality: Pansexual. Doesn't care about the gender, has to feel the ✨️vibe✨️.

♡Hair Color and style:

Her natural hair color is dark brown, but she always dyes them in turquoise with pink accents. She varies a lot with her hairstyle. Usually, she keeps her hair long but mostly tied up in buns. Only when she feels really comfortable she keeps her hair down. Since she’s with Kurt she wears her hair more and more often down, preferring softer and more feminine hairstyles. After the surgery, she’ll cut her hair short and return to her natural color, but she’ll grow it back and will go back to her turquoise and pink color. 

♡Eye Color:

Her natural color is green, she tries to keep her Kiroshi as close as possible to her real color.

♡Height: 165 cm (5’5”)! Short queen! But well, Hansen canonically is 5’9”, so he can suck it!

♡Body Type: She’s athletic. She’s used to running around a lot.

♡Personality:

Violet would say normal. She’s a bit skittish with relationships, a bit insecure, very irrational and volatile.

Really affectionate, needy and whiny with those she really cares about.

♡Tattoos:

A tattoo Misty designed for her with a mandala on her neck. (I want to redraw it and make it more like a big peony, tough, we’ll see! Yes, Violet is a big WIP)

♡Piercings: Many on her ears, nothing else.

♡Any definable features such as: Birthmarks, Scars, Freckles, Beauty Marks, Accent when they talk, Lisp, Natural slurring of words, Walk with a subtle limp, ect.

She has a bunch of birthmarks on her face (not really freckles) and many different scars around her body. On her right leg now she has a scar in a shape of “K” that the two dumb-dumbs keep refreshing now and then.

♡Hobbies

Does killing Maelstrom and Scavs count as a hobby? If not, she likes to cook (with poor results because she can’t really follow instructions and tends to improvise). Only, and I mean it, only when she’s alone (or well, with Johnny at most) she sings. She’s actually not bad at it!

♡Gang/Occupation {Mox, Max Tac, etc}

None. She’s a free merc. 

Who are we kidding? At the end she’s with Barghest. Or at least under their protection.

♡Do they smoke?

She started to smoke with Johnny. Now she smokes with Kurt. Not really a habit, she smokes only if she’s stressed out or if the person she’s talking to is smoking.

♡Do they drink? Is so, what's their poison of choice?

As with smoking, she’s a social drinker. Doesn’t drink alone, but loves to drink in company. She rarely gets drunk, though. Doesn’t really like to lose control, only to get tipsy to make social interactions easier!

♡What do they usually wear on a normal day?

Synth-leather pants, a t-shirt or a top, a synth-leather jacket, sneakers, or boots. She loves black and blue stuff.

♡What do they wear when they "Get dressed up"? And what would be considered a "special occasion" to them {such as an "Oh they're gonna be there so I have to look my best." Or an "It's our anniversary".}

A special occasion is when Kurt asks her to get dressed up. She doesn’t care about dresses too much, but she likes it when he buys her dresses and asks her to wear them. Her favorite one is a short blue velvet dress, with a deep cleavage and exposed back with little dainty silver chains that cover the cleavage.  Maybe because it’s his first gift to her.

♡What do they smell like? {For example: they smell like cinnamon flavored liquor, cigarettes, leather, and motor oil.}

Blood, sweet and jasmine. After she got her shit together mostly simply jasmine.

♡How do they walk? Do they sway their hips? Do they walk with a sense of determination? Do they bounce as they walk? Etc.

When she doesn’t think of it she walks almost as if she’s hiding. Always keeping her surroundings under control, finding possible hiding spots or advantage points. When she’s in a good place or feels protected she’s straighter and more confident in her stride.

♡Are they more of an early bird or a night owl?

An always exhausted pigeon. She doesn’t have fixed hours and sleeps whenever she can. Used to sleep in the morning but with Kurt she got used to waking up (at least briefly) at 6 to have breakfast together and a morning talk.

♡If you had to use one word to define them, what word would you use?

Impulsive.

♡What words or catchphrases do they say that's unique to that character?

For everyone probably some kind of swear: “Fuck!” Or “Fuck It!”

For Kurt… they have a ritualistic phrase she uses when she needs him to be rough with her and it's: “I want you. I need you. I'll always be yours” (the final part may vary). So it's her phrase in his eyes.

♡Favorite Season

Winter.

♡Favorite type of weather {Thunderstorms, sunny, etc}

She likes those cold winter sunny mornings. She’d love to see the snow, but not a thing she’s gonna see in NC.

♡Do they have someone they're with relationship-wise? If so, who?

Yeah. Where she’s at in (my yet unpublished) writing she’s officially with Hansen. In the published part they are together only in his head XD.

♡Main Ship/Pairings

Kvio. So yeah, Kurt/Violet.

♡Side Pairings

Do I have to count them??? Between official characters only, Vio has been with: Jackie, Judy, River. Not Panam because she’s not interested (but damn, Vio tried hard!). There’s also the weird thing she has with Johnny. If she never met Hansen they would have probably end up together.

♡Favorite/Self-indulgent Pairings

The favorite remains Kvio… The self-indulgent is an Aon/Vio/Alt sandwich XD! 

♡How do they show affection to their loved one?

TOUCH. She don’t generally like to touch people… But with people she likes she’s very touchy. Not in an extreme way, but if she’s close to a person she loves she’s probably touching their arm, or slipping her hand under their or laying her head on their shoulder. She is really affectionate and really needs a lot of physical contact.

♡How do they sit in a chair?

Normally? But usually quite comfortably, legs slightly open or a leg over the other. Definitely not feminine or elegant

♡How do they sit in a chair {uncomfortable version}

Legs closed, straight back, probably fidgeting with her hands.

♡What do they wear to bed?

T-shirt and underwear. But she’s been gifted a blue silk nightgown and she likes it too. She still thinks it’s too fancy for sleeping in it, though.

♡How do they usually sleep? {Side sleeper, back, fetal position, backwards, nest sleeper, blanket mountain, etc}

She starts in fetal position, or all cuddly, she ends sleeping on her back, sometimes she throws her arms and legs around.

♡How do they sleep in a place they don't know? {Can't due to anxiety, in small bursts of sleep that are short lived, holding themselves, etc}

If she's in a “safe space” the same as usual. If it’s not so safe she wakes up now and then checking her surroundings. She also is very receptive to any possible sound.

♡Do they have to have a form of "white noise" in order to sleep? {The sound of a fan, the sound of rain, the sound of a city, etc}

No, but she appreciates the sound of the waterfall behind Kurt’s bed a lot.

♡What's a place they go to feel comfortable, that's their "spot" they always go when they're upset?

El Coyote Cojo, Misty’s shop, or Viktor’s clinic. Like a stray cat who makes a tour of her favorite places for food and cuddles.

♡What do they do when they're nervous? {Fidget with jewelry, pick at nails, bite nails/lips, play with knife/zippo lighter, etc}

If she needs to fake it, she focuses on something repetitive. Like the tap of her finger on something. If not she usually avoids other people's eyes and tries to make herself invisible, she tends to do things with her hands but it's more uncontrollable.

♡What is their "tell" for lying?

She tends not to watch people in the eyes when she’s lying about something personal. If it’s professional stuff, though it’s quite harder to tell.

♡What is their favorite color?

Turquoise and blue.

♡Favorite flower/plant

Peonies.

♡Favorite sweet of choice

She's not really a sweet person. But well, who doesn't like chocolate?

♡Do they have any pets? If so, tell me about them

She had Nibbles, but with her erratic schedules she preferred to leave him with Misty.

*Takes a deep, sad breath* Violet Norris is technically her pet. And well, Shark Norris, too. If Kurt really has a “Proudest Shark Daddy” shirt, she has a “Proudest Shark Mommy'' shirt. Just to freak her out. That shirt is always in the laundry basket anyway. And if she wears it she becomes extra clumsy and spills something on it.

But of course, she's not allowed to tinker with the aquarium or to feed them without supervision. Not that she would anyway.

♡What are their triggers {If they have any}? If so, what calms them down?

The only real trigger for her is the feeling of abandonment or the fear of losing people she cares about. Only realizing that she’s not being left alone, preferably with physical contact calms her down.

♡If they could visit anywhere in the world, where would they go and why?

She… doesn’t know! She has seen very little outside of Night City and Atlanta, so the world… It feels so overwhelming. 

♡What is their favorite comfort meal?

Mama Welles’s food. Doesn’t really matter what!

♡Do they have a food they hate?

Food is food, she could eat everything. But well, she doesn’t love industrial-made food, but that’s what she eats the most anyway.

♡What is their favorite {non-alcoholic} drink?

She likes Tiancha Pomegranate.

♡What are their plans for the future {if they have any}?

She doesn’t make plans for the future. But if she could she would keep everything as it is. Living in the Black Sapphire with Kurt, doing gigs without being completely swallowed by them.

♡What's a song that "fits" them?

There’s a whole playlist…

But if I had to choose one this is her song.

♡Give me 5 facts/random bits of information about them

She once cooked a cake that tasted like fish. She still doesn't know what went wrong that time. Poor Jackie, it was for his birthday.

Still has a shark plushie and a T-shirt Kurt gave her when she was 3 years old. She couldn't sleep without both when she was a kid.

Violet secretly likes both Shark and Violet Norris a lot. Mostly because they bring out a silly/boomer side in their owner she didn't know before.

Violet can't dance. For real. She simply wiggles her arms around without any coordination.

She knitted a sweater for Nibbles. Never finished it though.

♡Give me their backstory {can be long, or brief.}

Born in 6th Street’s turf. Her father killed her mother, but she doesn't remember most of it. It was gruesome, though, so that even a 15-year-old Kurt was shaken by it at the time. He killed her father and she was under his protection for a few years until he joined the army. In one day she lost both her best friend and her mother because he used to lie about her death.

Since then she hated living there but didn't know what else to do until she ran into Valentino's turf at 13.

She was lucky enough to meet Jackie and become friends with him. He introduced her to his mom and friends. The first time she felt loved like in a family. They eventually got together from 15 to 18. But she didn't love his affiliation with Valentinos and to avoid being sucked into another gang she broke up with him and moved to Atlanta. She moved back after 5 years. Jackie was no longer with Valentinos and they started to work on gigs together as friends. They never got back together, though, in truth they really weren't right for each other.

That's until the Heist and everything else (which happens a lot of years later).

She met Kurt again, but they didn't recognize each other and hooked up. After they found out who the other was, everything seemed terribly (and a bit freakily) right and perfect. (The truth is that if they did know beforehand they would have lost every inch of sexual tension between them xD)

Now they're mostly together. With ups and downs because communication is hard for both of them.

♡Free Space! Give me any sort of extra information about them you'd like to share

Really, I think I've exhausted everything xD

~

Template from @vincentmatthews, template here. Have fun !

Can I tag people??? Of course I'll tag people!

Obviously with no pressure.

@ouroboros-hideout @blackrevell @cybervesna @cyberholic77 @streetkid-named-desire

@astellehope @dustymagpie @sofia-in-nc @theviridianbunny

And everyone who wants to!

[doberbutts]

I've heard that chihuahuas are hard to potty train, did you find this to be the case with your girls?

Hmm. Both yes and no.

To start off I will say a significant amount of the problems I have had are because I refuse to do the potty pad thing. Poop goes outside and that is non-negotiable. I'm not teaching my dogs that it's acceptable to go in the house. The rest are because Tater is somewhat incontinent due to her CM/SM.

Fae is perfectly capable of being potty trained. This comes with somewhat of an asterisk because if it is cold, raining, or snowing, she will do her absolute damnedest to not go outside and will do it in the house. Usually under my bed, which caused her to be evicted from my room during the winter months. She also can't hold it if she is out of her crate for longer than about 6 hours, but can hold it if she's in her crate through my work day or overnight. She also can hold it if she's sleeping in bed with me but not if she's been left on the floor overnight. She's weird.

That being said, during the period that I had a pad out for Tater when she was first diagnosed, Fae would make sure to go on the pad, so this problem would literally resolve overnight if I just provided a pad for them to use if they needed one. The chihuahuas are both poop eaters and also Fae will shred a pad she can access so not only do I not want to teach them that it's okay to potty in the house but it also creates new problems I don't want to deal with.

Tater was very similar to Fae before her CM caused a bunch of neurological issues including both fecal and urinary incontinence. With medication, that for the most part has stopped, though she does still occasionally leak in her sleep as I will start to smell urine on the blankets in their crate if I don't wash them regularly. Again she doesn't seem to do it if she's sleeping in bed with me, so I don't know if it's a comfort thing or what. While she was incontinent she would try her best to hit the pad - I'd usually find a trail leading from her bed to the pad and back. So she did want to go on the pad, she just had some mechanical malfunctions.

Keeping all this in mind, I also want to say that the most annoying to potty train dog in my house would be Sushi. If GSMD have one serious fault as a breed it is that they are notoriously difficult to housebreak. I had at least weekly full bladder releases in the house from Sushi until she was over a year old. She would pee while just walking around in my house, not even stopping to squat, so there would be a piss river all over my floor. I probably bought half the company's stock of nature's miracle during this time. Swissies are known for being incredibly incredibly dirty in this aspect and unfortunately Sushi was no exception. It's something that makes me a little reluctant to get another, if only because I got really tired of urine everywhere really, really fast. I could get another chihuahua just as annoying about going outside as my two, and I'd rather that over dealing with 100lb dog piss rivers again.

[attuncd]

tw: child abuse, child exploitation, grooming.

❪﹝ ฺ★˒ 4TUNE ﹙ 4곡조 ; pronounced ATTUNE ﹚❫ is a south korean boy group formed and managed by LIGHT UP ENTERTAINMENT. originally known as a predebut group called DRAGON BOYS ( due to all of the members being born in 2000, making dragon their chinese zodiac sign ), despite their young age, the six members XIN, JITAE, YUYEON, JAEHO, JIANHAO, and KAIZ would quickly cement themselves as an act other third gen groups should be worried about; being the fastest group to achieve a perfect all kill, and winning best new artist and a dasaeng for song of the year at the mama awards just months after their debut.

like everything else, 4TUNE’s highs were also accompanied by lows. behind the scenes, the boys were pressured to be nothing short of perfect. being LIGHT UP ENTERTAINMENT’s only act, they were constantly forced to practice and make several comebacks and appearances to uphold their reputation.

the company was starving for fame and more specifically money. they would sell the boys personal schedules and sometimes even the hotel rooms they were staying at to get extra cash here and there. the boys had no privacy at all.

just before their first comeback, their original seventh member YESEONG would be pulled out of the company by his parents due to them being concerned about his safety. after seeing the other members with bruises YESEONG’s parents would also try to contact the other parents to let them see what was truly going on. but the boys were already so accustomed to it that they convinced their parents to let them stay. after all, they had been told that this was the price to fame, and that every other company would do the same.

the company would be under control of 4TUNE from their debut in 2016 until early 2024 when their contract would be terminated by LIGHT UP, harmonies are still awaiting the news of the group being bought by another company.

❪﹝ ฺ★˒ YUYEON ﹙ 임유연 ; lim yu yeon ﹚❫ is the leader of boy group 4TUNE born march 31st, 2000. he started training because he loved dancing, he went to the audition with his friend YESEONG and didn’t really expect much from it but got accepted anyways. he’s always been very quiet and shy, the most introverted in the group. to be honest he’s never really been very confident in his abilities as a leader; and it’s often speculated that he was chosen for such role because he was the least likely to talk back and protest to the things happening to the group. despite being really quiet off stage, he really tends to shine on stage. many harmonies say that he’s the member that drew them to 4TUNE.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( STAGE NAME: yuyeon.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTH NAME: lim yu yeon.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( OTHER NAME: aiden lim.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTHDAY: march 31st, 2000.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( ZODIAC SIGN: aries.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( NATIONALITY: south korean.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( FACECLAIM: hwang hyun jin.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( HEIGHT: 179 cm.

❪﹝ ฺ★˒ XIN ﹙ 黄雨馨 ; huang yu xin ﹚❫ is the oldest member of kpop boy group 4TUNE born february 14th, 2000. xin is almost ALWAYS in his own world, if you watch their variety show he’s spaced out, behind the scenes of practices, spaced out. its something that took the staff a while to get used to. he’s often oblivious to the things going around him or even involving him and the members have to explain things several times for him to understand. the one thing that does come easily to xin though is music, in fact he has perfect pitch. he’s played the cello and viola since he was a child, and because of this passion he wanted to be an idol.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( STAGE NAME: xin.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTH NAME: huang yu xin.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTHDAY: february 14th, 2000.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( ZODIAC SIGN: aquarius.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( NATIONALITY: chinese.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( FACECLAIM: zhang hao.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( HEIGHT: 181 cm.

❪﹝ ฺ★˒ JITAE ﹙ 지태 ; ji tae ﹚❫ is the second oldest member of kpop boy group 4TUNE born march 12th, 2000. jitae is someone who’s very confident and secure within himself. he’s the social butterfly of the group, if 4TUNE is friends with anyone outside of their group its probably because jitae set them up. he LOVES talking to people and making friends. however, with his charms also comes stubbornness. he is very hard to reason with, and often gets into arguments with 4TUNE’s staff and managers because he just does not know how to shut up even if it would save his life. he was urged to start training because his parents were worried that with his mouth that he wouldn’t be employed otherwise.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( STAGE NAME: jitae.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTH NAME: ji tae.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTHDAY: march 12th, 2000.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( ZODIAC SIGN: pisces.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( NATIONALITY: south korean.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( FACECLAIM: park jihoon ( treasure ).

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( HEIGHT: 178 cm.

❪﹝ ฺ★˒ JAEHO ﹙ 민재호 ; min jae ho ﹚❫ is the third youngest member of kpop boy group 4TUNE born july 18th, 2000. jaeho is someone who seeks action in order to live a “fulfilling life”. because of this he is considered rather impulsive and reckless. he does things without putting much thought into it because he believes no matter if it goes well or not, he’s still going to have fun, and no matter the reaction he still technically got something out of it. he joined the company because of this, he was dared to send in a rap audition as a joke and being someone who doesn’t not fulfill dares, he did it. he was just shocked when he got in.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( STAGE NAME: jaeho.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTH NAME: min jae ho.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTHDAY: july 18th, 2000.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( ZODIAC SIGN: cancer.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( NATIONALITY: south korean.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( FACECLAIM: lee dong hyuck.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( HEIGHT: 175 cm.

❪﹝ ฺ★˒ JIANHAO ﹙ 蔡建豪 ; tsai jian hao ﹚❫ is the second youngest member of kpop boy group 4TUNE born october 29th, 2000. jianhao is the most 4TUNE person ever, he is the definition of someone who wants to just live his youth to the fullest that he can. which is why he and jaeho aren’t allowed to be alone together. he’s known for liking to have fun, but only for a little while. he will try literally anything at least once. he’s flirty with anyone he meets but is TERRIBLE at any kind of commitment. he wants to be known and famous forever and he doesn’t not really care how he does it.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( STAGE NAME: jianhao.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTH NAME: tsai jianhao.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( OTHER NAME: jacob tsai.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTHDAY: october 29th, 2000.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( ZODIAC SIGN: scorpio.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( NATIONALITY: taiwanese.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( FACECLAIM: liu yang yang.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( HEIGHT: 174 cm.

❪﹝ ฺ★˒ KAIZ ﹙ 말라카이 홍 ; malakai hong ﹚❫ is the maknae of kpop boy group 4TUNE born november 11th, 2000. while on the outside he has a confident and intimidatingly charming personality, on the inside he’s just a boy anxious about everyone’s opinion on him. he’s grown up in the spotlight and has had his life constantly monitored to the point that he gets so excited when someone shows the slightest bit of interest or appreciation of him. he strives on words of validation, something his members make sure to do often. he fears being forgotten and alone because maybe he isn’t as cool as he wants people to think he is.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( STAGE NAME: kaiz.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTH NAME: malakai hong.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( OTHER NAME: hong seok hwan.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( BIRTHDAY: november 11th, 2000.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( ZODIAC SIGN: scorpio.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( NATIONALITY: american.

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( FACECLAIM: kim sun woo ( tbz ).

𓍢 ✷ꜜ ࣪ .( HEIGHT: 178 cm.

[fallout-lou-begas]

okay so here's the thing for all of my non-wrestling followers.

if you want to understand why i've been posting so much about CM Punk and MJF and how it's over and we'll never get it again and i can still hear you saying you will never break the chain never break the chain, then. then. you have to understand. here's how to understand. here's the path i took to understanding it myself.

this. this is a very excellent forty-five minute documentary that covers the entirety of the feud between CM Punk and Maxwell Jacob Friedman. it is art. the feud itself is art. it's one of the best things ever done. it's about a very sick, sad, desperate, angry child who grew up to lash out against everything that's ever tried to love him before it could hurt him first, because his childhood hero was the one thing that he could count on but that hero walked out on him--and what happens when he meets that hero again. yes it's extraordinarily psychosexual and homoerotic. of course it is. it's wrestling.

but then. then you have to understand that some time after the events of the feud covered in that documentary, this happened

(MJF appeared to go completely off the rails during a live taping, insulting everything and everybody including his own boss while begging to be fired, before his microphone got cut off, and after this he basically wasn't seen again)

and then some time after that, this happened

(Punk defeated Jon Moxley to become the AEW world champion, only to be immediately confronted by a suddenly returning MJF, who had won the rights to a championship match with a masked identity earlier that night)

and then immediately after that, this happened

(CM Punk, while his tricep was torn from his match, shit-talked multiple people in the company while sitting directly next to his boss during the post-event media scrum, resulting in a legitimate backstage fight and several suspensions for all involved, and after that Punk was stripped of the championship and basically wasn't seen again, but it least it gave us the iconic line "i'm old, i'm hurt, and i'm tired, and i work with fucking children")

and then some time after that, this happened

(MJF became the new AEW world champion by also defeating Jon Moxley, who had become champion again after Punk's suspension and injury)

and then some time after that, this happened

(the premiere of a new weekly wrestling show on Saturdays, AEW Collision, which was created with CM Punk as a centerpiece and premiered with his 'second coming' and an angry, triumphant promo in which he claims he has something in a red bag that is rightfully his: it's not in the video, but as he leaves, he glares into the camera and asks: "what's in the bag, Max?")

and then some time after that, this happened

(Punk reveals that his red bag does indeed contain the "real" world championship, which he claims is his because no one has taken it from him by pinfall or submission)

and as that's all going on, this is happening

(MJF is becoming best friends with Adam Cole, another hero from his past, in a way that is playing out like the most wholesome alternative possible to the sick and twisted fixation he had on Punk, while (suspiciously?) not acknowledging Punk's return actions literally at all)

and so as you can see we were perfectly, and i do mean perfectly positioned, for a second CM Punk and MJF feud in which the roles are reversed, where Punk is the vengeful and obsessive one and MJF is the good guy on the upswing completely oblivious to the other guy's one-sided obsession, or something like that, or anything. and after Punk did two title defenses of his "real" world championship, we just may have been right about to see it. so you have to understand. and once you understand that, then you'll understand what it means to understand that we'll never get it now. that it's actually completely over. that he's gone again. and you will understand why this feels so bad.

fuck!

[waitmyturtles]

SUNDAY SHOW ROUND-UP!

Goddamn -- there are so many shows! The holiday season and many life obligations are preventing me from writing meta about most of these shows except for the big priorities (my Old GMMTV Challenge project and Last Twilight). So here's a quick round-up of what I'm thinking, feeling, etc., about the dramas I have going on.

1) CHERRY MAGIC THAILAND IS DELIGHTFUL AND FULFILLING TO MY SOUL AND LIFE

I've mentioned before! I'm a HUUUUUGE Cherry Magic Japan girlie. I am a major defender of the movie, AMA. When I joined Tumblr last year, besides Old Fashion Cupcake, Cherry Magic was....I think it was the first gigantic rabbithole I fell in. I love, unabashedly, everything about this franchise, and I think TayNew are carrying it splendidly so far. (Also, the original mangaka of the whole Cherry Magic franchise, Toyota Yuu, is 100% on board with the adaptation and is regularly tweeting about it, and just! COULD THAT BE MORE CUTE AND REASSURING FOR US CM GIRLIES, NO I DON'T THINK SO, BIG HAPPY SIGHS.)

So the original manga exists in the Cherry Magic Thailand universe, huh? I'm gonna admit my unreasonable optimism to say that I am not-so-secretly hoping for a Machida Keita/Akaso Eiji/Kurosawa/Adachi cameo -- but the manga existing in this universe jags that up a bit.

BUT! Toyokawa still exists in the universe... so does that mean that Kurosawa/Adachi do, too? I'M NOT GOING THERE, BUT I AM.

ANYWAY! I noted last month that I really appreciated seeing a lot of Japan in the Cherry Magic trailer -- "Karan-san," Karan speaking Japanese, "san juu," the fact that Toyokawa is still the company that all these guys are working for. But I also love the very overt Thai visuals -- the Buddha in Achi's apartment foreground, the offering to the monk (which replaces the onigiri guy in Cherry Magic Japan, lmao) -- I'm just, covering my mouth in happiness at noting that these details are very well-placed, and very intentional.

That's it, I enjoyed every last second of this first episode in total joy of seeing this Thai remix. With X Nuttapong behind this show -- yes, oh yes, I loved seeing literally the phrase "theory of love" in the subtitles, and good on him for going there a bit.

2) An Old GMMTV Challenge update! So, I interrupted the OGMMTVC to catch up with La Pluie, because I know LP will be on a lot of best-of-2023 lists later this month.

By episode 4 or so, I knew La Pluie had to, HAD TO, go on the OGMMTVC syllabus, so on it went. And I'm going to pause on writing about it out of chronology. I'm watching Secret Crush on You (2022) now, I'll do my watchlist thing, and I'll rewatch LP.

La Pluie was a motherfucking important show.

The subversion of the romance genre in Thai BL. I mean. Give me a mallet to crack the gigantic egg on that on. @lurkingshan's La Pluie meta round-up post has been a walking stick for me as I've stumbled to get my thoughts together around this show, and honestly, I'm not ready to write about it yet. I need to finish 2022's shows on the watchlist and get through some important 2023 rewatches to fully write about La Pluie in its context, and to understand how such an important show came about this year by way of the straightforward honesty it took in dismantling and rebuilding some very key expectations that we may have carried about romance in Thai BL before its airing.

If you haven't watched La Pluie yet, do it before this year is over. DO IT. IT'S INCREDIBLE AND SO MUCH.

3) Playboyy, episode 4: I have a lot of thoughts, and no time to write about this show, but episode 4 was really different than the first three. It was CAMPY AF, way melodramatic (wtf Zooey/Soong), but it also had many more nuggets of a plot than I had expected to see by way of Nont finally revealing himself to WAY more people than I had expected. I'm sticking with it with the expectation that Cheewin will know how to get himself out of this mess, BUT, one huge criticism -- the intimacy is getting harder to watch, because it's being lazily acted and filmed (..... you had y'alls' shorts on, Prom/Nont, ahem), and it's just a lot, and can we just, like, get more to the story, I'm gonna put that in the show's request box.

Clown theory: I think Prom knows more than he's letting on and is using Nont in some bad ways to get back at those other dudes for leaving Playboyy. But I'm trying to not get invested-invested because a) still sooooo many names to remember, GOD, and b) soooo many shows airing, my brain can't take it.

4) The Sign: I'm putting this guy on pause. I heard yesterday's episode was 90 minutes, and I can't commit to a weekend show that needs that kind of time commitment. I'm following y'all in the gifs. This is no knock on BillyBabe. I REALLY LIKE THEM TOGETHER. GO SAINT, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU. But I'll watch this when there's a lull in the midseasons.

5) What Did You Eat Yesterday?: WDYEY and Last Twilight are the best shows airing right now. When a show is so good, it doesn't need meta? That's WDYEY. Nishijima’s quiet “hai” to start the conversation with Kenji’s mom? Some of the best acting in all of BL.

The amazing @isaksbestpillow threw down some clutch background about this past Friday's episode that's WELL worth reading, about chosen family and what Kenji's family was offering to Shiro. Gorgeous, screaming, crying, etc.

That's all I got, happy Sunday, y'all! The OGMMTVC will come back with SCOY when I wrap it up, hopefully soon!

[blakbonnet]

15 QUESTIONS FOR 15 FRIENDS

Thanks @rosettyller @spirker @kiwistede @gentlebeardsbarngrill @edsbacktattoo @lisahafey @eye-scream-girls @gntlbrd and @michaelsheens for the tag❤️

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? my parents named me after a manuscript because they were giant history nerds, part one of the manuscript became a nickname and the other part became my legal name (neither of which I no longer use except for official purposes since I'm too lazy to go through bureaucracy and get it changed)

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? when wilf came back to doctor who and I literally sat there rocking back and forth unable to contain the joy and tears

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? nope and I don't plan to, don't want them

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED? I've played most sports when I was a kid including cricket, football, hockey, and local sports, but only swimming has stuck in my adult years

DO YOU USE SARCASM? Don't know who she is 💅🏽

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? definitely hands and eyes

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR? Brown 👁️ 👁️

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I'm chicken and can't sit through horror movies at all, even basic horror stuff gives me nightmares 😭 so happy endings it is

ANY TALENTS? i can pick up most skills pretty quickly and get decent at them within a week if given the time, it's how i got my job lmao

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? India

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? writing, reading fantasy, drawing, mainly finding new things to get obsessed over

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? yes 🥹 his name is bilbo and he's a very good boy

HOW TALL ARE YOU? 165 cm 😞

FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? English, art, most of the languages

DREAM JOB? exactly what I'm doing right now (any company any industry that pays well for me do a bunch of stuff I like and be a generalist and not put too much deadline pressure on me and lets me work from home)

I'm gonna tag @jaskierx @xoxoemynn @bizarrelittlemew @soupbtch @cahootings and anyone else who wants to do this, no pressure

[liamthemailman]

Shadow "Jack" 5-9

Call of Duty OC Info Sheet

• General Info •

Rank: N/A (Formerly Corporal)

Alias: Shadow 5-9 (Formerly known as Jack)

Age: 22 years old (as of 2023)

Gender: Masc

Birthday: 25 October

Language spoken: English

Sexuality: Pansexual

• Appearance •

Height: 5'2 feet / 158 cm

Blood type: AB Pos

Eye color: Honey Brown

Hair color: Dark brown

• Personality •

Extrovert - 5-9 is very easy to approach. Be it requesting help or just to strike up a conversation, he's all ears. There isn't a tume where he feels lonely, even when he's alone.

Cocky - 5-9 thinks he's hot shit, his confidence and impulsiveness leads to a lack of self preservation and lands him in trouble. He always makes it out one way or another and surviving another near death experience only blows more air his head.

Rebellious - Ironically for a soldier, 5-9 hates rules and following orders. Ones that doesn't make sense anyway. It's not that 5-9 is outwardly wanting to defy orders, he just sees that an easy way out is the most effective. following protocol and precautions only complicates things.

Tit for a tat - As a wild card, 5-9 is always ride or die. He will go any lengths for allies, more often than not compromising his own safety and life. This service however, is only if said ally has done 5-9 a favour before.

• Bad Habits •

Loudmouth - 5-9 is boisterous, not much goes through his head before he lets it slip out. He catches the people around him off-guard by saying the most out of pocket nonsense, and it usually lands him in trouble

What are plans - 5-9 always keeps himself on his toes and its useful especially in the field, though in the heat of the moment he resorts to unconventional tactics. when asked about it later, he'll only shrug, saying it made sense to do so in the moment.

Sugarcoats - 5-9 is hyperaware of the emotions of others around him and hates seeing people upset. He always does his best to soften the blow when it comes to bad news.

• Skill set •

Weapon - Close and long range guns

Combat Style - 5-9 prefers close range guns. Not too bad with close combat, 5-9 moves fast and his movements are unpredictable as he doesn't have a pattern to his attacks

Special Skill

Cowboy - 5-9 has a rope on him for one reason or another. 5-9 claims its main use is to tie down equipment, but it's not unusual to see him take out someone with a Punjab Lasso, that theatrical nerd.

Classic arsonist - 5-9 is not above committing war crimes and has on more than one occasion resorted to torching someone. He doesn't set things on fire with abandon though! 5-9 knows not to play with fire.

• Trivia •

Jacket

A memorabilia brough from his former army days before Shadow Company, with all the old patches and whatnot taken off. The Shadow Company logo is sewn to the left arm, and 5-9 keeps a red diamond pin over the right breast pocket.

Touch Starved

5-9 is an extremely touchy person. His love language is physical affection and he loves giving and receiving all sorts of it, from hugs, pats and holding hands and even sharing kisses.

Arson

In each pocket, 5-9 either has a lighter or a matchbox, even in civvie wear. 5-9 has never gone long without anything that can start a fire within reach. Just in case, yknow?

Sweet tooth

5-9 loves sweets. It keeps his mouth busy and it helps because he has an oral fixation. He can only last for so long chewing on his own cheek so in addition to lighters and matches, 5-9 has candy on him. Sharp teeth! Chomps through lollipops with ease.

Favourites

Drink: Espresso

Food: Strawberry shortcake

Animal: Dogs

Hobby: Visiting cafes, going to candle stores

Song: Sweet Talk - Saint Motel

Colour: Orange

Flower: Baby's breath

• Puppy Love •

Shadow 5-9, like many other fellow Shadows, adore Graves. 5-9 wouldn't put him on a pedestal to worship his feet but would rather follow his boss around like a lost puppy.

5-9 doesn't like to admit that he's completely enamoured by Graves and insists that he does it so that 'someone would be there if Graves needs anything at all'.

Shadow 5-9 is dead loyal to Graves for a multitude of reasons. One being that Graves welcomed him with open arms into his company despite being seen as 'troublesome' and a 'hazard to others'. As a result of being given a second chance, 5-9 swore undying loyalty to Graves.

• Background •

Shadow - Before his former team unceremoniously broken up, 5-9 was recommended to join Shadow Company, a private militia. 5-9 was skeptical, but at the time his team was seeing the last of its days so he took it up.

Former team - 5-9 didn't really like his former team from his army days but showed face because they were a form of familliarity on foreign land, people he could relate to the most. Though he can't deny that he misses them sometimes. He keeps the poloroid from his first day in a box under his bed.

Family - 5-9 regularly maintains contact with his family back home! He loves his mom and pop dearly and his siblings all the more. He takes his breaks by flying back to meet with family and catch up with friends.

[mickmundy]

finished my profiles for medic and sniper for my bushmedicine fic series, thou giveth fever! ^u^ this covers some vague backstory and general info about them, and fun lil moodboards! html credit

very long text version under the cut!

Michael "Mick" Mundy

pronouns: he/him

dob: January 19th

country of origin: Australia

mercenary alias: Sniper

current employer: TF Industries (RED)

primary inventory

Sniper rifle (stock), SMG, kukri (razorback and cozy camper used intermittently). Carries a thermos for coffee and small snacks (jerky, granola bar, etc). Keeps herbs for improvised healing. Wears shooting glasses with prescriptions in them; nearsighted.

fighting style

Ideally prefers long distance [sniper rifle], also adept at close-range combat [kukri]. Would rather fight alone, moving from vantage point to vantage point. Assists team by calling out incoming BLUs from respawn and taking out flanking enemies.

hobbies

taxidermy, grilling, canning/preserving, botany, playing saxophone, bar games (billiards, darts, shuffleboard), hunting, bonding with his owl, horseback riding, reading (poetry, non-fiction, romance), sharpshooting, journaling, leatherworking

Prefers being on his own and doesn't like to rely on others, but will gladly lend a helping hand if you ask him. He is constantly honing his skills and places a lot of personal value on how useful he is to those around him. Sniper is sexually repressed and emotionally immature, absolutely awful at processing and understanding his own feelings.

height: 6'3" (190.5 cm)

build: "dad" body

hair: brown (mullet)

eyes: light brown

background; The following is a mix of my own personal headcanons, canon events, and my interpretation of them. This feeds into my fic series, Thou Giveth Fever.

life before Teufort (pre-game or comic events)

Sniper grew up with his parents in the Australian bush and has spent his life honing his skills as a hunter of man and beast alike. Had a strained relationship with his parents for most of his life after leaving home to work as an assassin (later mercenary). Grew up as a social outcast and prefers working alone to this day. Devotes himself completely to his work and cared little for establishing relationships (romantic or platonic) while on his travels, keeping to himself and living in a custom-converted camper van that his father had given him before he left home.

Took up big-game hunting and taxidermy as side hustles between bigger jobs and has a lot of respect for life and death. Educated himself on being a survivalist (building upon what his father had taught him growing up in an unforgiving rural area) and amassing a large knowledge of herbal remedies and tactics that helped him become the efficient hunter he is today.

employment with RED team (events of Team Fortress 2)

Works with his team by pinning and picking off BLU mercenaries at choke points and calling out enemy positions to his teammates. Moves from tower to tower as matches progress and dislikes being on the ground, but will go where he needs to in order to get the job done. Doesn't mind getting his hands dirty for the sake of the job and will do so without complaints.

Originally reluctant to join a mercenary team, Sniper eventually grew to enjoy the company of all of his coworkers, specifically Engineer, Demoman, and Spy, along with Scout. They drink together in their off time, often having to drag Sniper out of his van to do so, but he's thankful that they do. When he's not in the mood for being social (most of the time), he can be found in his camper van, or outside bonding with his Western Screech-Owl, Ser Hootsalot.

after the team's disbanding (during - post-comics)

Sniper discovers that he's been adopted and is swiftly betrayed by his biological parents. He is fatally shot by Classic Team's Sniper and was brought back to their base, where he bled out and died. He [dreamed, hallucinated] that he finally gets his parents' blessing, expressing his want to stay with them in heaven. They tell him that he's still got a lot of people that need taking care of, and Sniper wakes up on Medic's operating table, having been brought back to life by the doctor.

After the team gets back together, Sniper is still left to deal with his family home after the death of his parents (having been interrupted by Miss Pauling recruiting his help in locating Australium) and, while unbothered by the revival itself, struggles with what to do with himself when he had been ready to die and then was... denied that. By a teammate who he seldom ever spoke to, who was working with the enemy at the time, no less!

-------

Dr. Ludwig

pronouns: he/him

dob: June 23rd

country of origin: Germany

mercenary alias: Medic

current employer: TF Industries (RED)

primary inventory

Medigun, syringe gun, ubersaw. Has no other medical supplies on hand other than his medigun and prefers to travel light. Carries a notepad and pen, and a water bottle to stay hydrated. Always wears his glasses.

fighting style

Best in close-knit groups or with powerhouse classes. Is deceptively athletic and can keep up with any teammate with ease. Sadistic and loves getting his hands dirty! Very capable and physically strong.

hobbies

baking, watching movies, learning new things, botany, reading (non-fiction), tending to his doves, practicing medicine, playing violin or accordion, sewing, listening to classical music, equestrian dressage

Enjoys working as a team and doesn't mind giving assistance when needed. Is a complete and total wildcard; likes being underestimated and knowing his own strength. Medic knows (and values) his own worth and has no problem letting others know that they need him, not the other way around. Very emotionally in-touch with himself.

height: 6'2" (187 cm)

build: burly

hair: black, gray

eyes: blue

background; The following is a mix of my own personal headcanons, canon events, and my interpretation of them. This feeds into my fic series, Thou Giveth Fever.

life before Teufort (pre-game or comic events)

Medic was an only child born to a well-off family in Germany. Not much is known about his past, and he likes it that way! He was a rebellious, unruly child who was impossible to contain, being passionate about things that personally interested him, and very little else. He cared for his parents, but never found himself missing them when he'd left home, or when they passed. Charismatic even in his youth, he had no trouble getting what he wanted, though seldom ever found himself caring about the emotional aspect of relationships, romantic or platonic. He wanted to do what he wanted, when he wanted, and had no desire to get swept up in people!

Devoting himself to his own strange, morally dubious scientific endeavors, Medic found himself signing on to work for Teufort Industries so that he could further develop what he called Uber science on the company's dime, while being given willing-and-eager test subjects for his every medical whim.

employment with RED team (events of Team Fortress 2)

Naturally, Medic spends most of his time conducting research on the science of his uber technology. He isn't a doctor because he has a medical license or for some higher-calling to help the sick and needy... he's in it for himself and his own gain, first and foremost! That doesn't mean he's heartless; Medic can be kind and sensitive, and even with his lack of social graces (despite what he'll tell you!), his teammates still regard him as a good coworker, even if they don't know much about him. You'll never know which side of Medic you'll get, and if you want consistent healing, it's best to be good to him; he can hold one hell of a grudge!

There's nobody's company that he cherishes more than his best friend Archimedes, a dove that he stole and would be the first member of his small dule. The good doctor is never focusing on only one thing at a time, and is quite the workaholic; nothing brings him more pleasure than medicine! In his (very little) spare time, he enjoys having tea and conversation with his best friend Heavy, and baking pastries and breads! Likes keeping his hands busy and his mind sharp!

after the team's disbanding (during - post-comics)

When RED team disbanded, Medic was unfazed and quickly sought out another means of funding his experiments. Such was life as a scientist! As it turned out, Classic Team was in need of a Medic and hired him on full-time, all expenses paid. If he healed them, they were content to leave him to his devices in his free time... whatever he got into, they were happy to be none the wiser. It was thanks to this carelessness that he was able to find Sniper's body after he'd been killed by Classic Sniper, quickly beginning to revive him.

1.3 billion dollars and twelve hours later, Sniper was alive and well again! Truly a medical miracle! Medic dubs him as his greatest achievement and distracts an interrupting Classic Heavy so that Sniper can escape and meet up with the rest of the team. When the mercenaries all returned to Teufort, things resumed as normal, though Medic found himself wondering if his greatest achievement was having any troubles readjusting to life after, well, death. He wanted to pry (he's very nosy, after all!), but decided to leave it be; if Sniper wanted to discuss something with him, he supposed he knew where to find him.

[non-binarypal7]

15 people, 15 questions (on the 15th! 😄)

Thank you very much for tagging me in this game @xagan @theflagscene @visualtaehyun @telomeke ❣️ I loved learning about y’all 🥰

1) Are you named after anyone?

My middle name was given to me in honor of my great-grandmother (one of her children was also named after her and kept that name her whole life, so I don’t feel bad about the fact that I’m changing both my first and middle names legally 😁) (even if no one else had been named after her there still wouldn’t be any reason for me to feel bad about changing my name to better suit me) 😁😁😁

2) Last time you cried?

A couple days ago in the lead up to a traumatic experience that I won’t go into but on the whole I don’t mind crying!

3) Do you have kids?

No, and I don’t plan on passing on my genes, but I can see myself potentially raising a kid in the distant future. There’s a very good chance that I’ll never be a parent, and I’m extremely fine with that. I think the ideal parenthood situation involves people who are adamantly certain in their desire to be parents (and who are prepared to respect the autonomy and complete personhood of their children) I have lots of other thoughts on parenthood, but I’m veering away from the question 😄

4) What sports do you play/have you played?

My primary sports are tennis and basketball and I really miss playing them. I played them frequently growing up and now it’s been quite a while since I played either, though the last time I played basketball was almost a year ago and it was a satisfyingly homoerotic experience and I played well under pressure, so at least I have that to sustain me until the next time I can play

5) Do you use sarcasm?

I do, but pretty infrequently, and generally only with people who I’m confident will understand and not be confused or hurt by it

6) What’s the first thing you notice about people?

If it’s an in-person meeting, probably their height, mannerisms, accent, facial expressions if I can see their face; if it’s a text-based meeting, probably their writing/spelling/grammar/punctuation style, use of emojis and/or emoticons, etc. + degree of formality for both in-person and online meetings

7) What’s your eye color?

My eyes are a bit of a kaleidoscope of colors, but the most dominant color is green

8) Scary movies or happy ending?

I don’t watch many scary movies, but I can enjoy a scary movie with a (relative to the plot) happy ending, like The Blue Hour directed by P’Nuchy Anucha Boonyawatana 😄 The Blue Hour isn’t extremely scary, but I’ll take any opportunity to encourage people to watch that film 😁

9) Any talents?

I love to sing ☺️

10) Where were you born?

U.S.

11) What are your hobbies?

Writing (predominately fan fiction and poetry, I’d like to journal and write poetry more often), engaging with Thai media, and learning languages (Spanish, Thai, and Japanese are my primary target languages) are currently my main hobbies

12) Do you have any pets?

Yes 🥰 Luna is a wonderful doggy whom I love very much

13) How tall are you?

163.83 cm (5 feet 4 and a half inches)

14) Favorite subject in school?

Ecology

15) Dream job?

I feel capable of being fulfilled in numerous fields - ideally I’d like to help contribute towards environmental activism and sustainable practices, as well as regulations to hold companies accountable for their environmental and socioeconomic impacts

Tagging @dropthedemiurge @thepancakelady @7nessasaryevils @ablazenqueen @fairlylokai @ullvide @topcatnikki @fandork @springkitten @arisprite @wereflamingo @gaym3bo1 @ragingbyesexual @rares-posts @kornswasianguyswag

[donnerpartyofone]

I feel like there's an epidemic of businesses trying to make customers and applicants do free data entry for them and it's driving me crazy.

I have complained many times about how seeing a doctor now involves checking in online, and then entering duplicate information into something else when you check in physically, and then answering duplicate questions once you're actually inside the exam room. Sometimes somebody addresses this in a humane way: "Sorry, we're using a new CMS and we have to do all this stuff from scratch," or "Sorry, we have to use these three different systems and they don't communicate with each other." Last time I went I did all this like research into my past appointments because I never ever remember off the cuff exactly what day I had this or that procedure, and I had every impression that the clinic was dependent on me to have all my medical records memorized...so I got in there and started rattling off information, and the nurse asked "When was your last mammogram?", and I gave her the date, and she looked at her monitor and said, "...yup, there it is!" Like WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT, IF IT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU WHY ARE YOU QUIZZING ME ABOUT THIS, WHY IS THIS A TEST???

I actually asked about redundant check-in procedures on Quora of all places, figuring there had to be a few cantankerous cranks on there who could at least try to explain this to me, but there were absolutely no takers at all. As far as I can see, literally no one knows why this is happening, it's just The Way It Is.

But anyway. Now I'm having this experience with job applications where they request that you upload files for your resume and cover letter in specific formats...and then they direct you to this interface where you are made to transcribe every detail from the resume you just provided by hand, one field at a time. I've been confronted with this insanity when applying for jobs whose wages weren't even worth the mind-numbing exercise of the application process. And actually this is part of my point: Data entry is a JOB. I have had this job. I was paid to examine, reformat, and transcribe data, and upload it to a database for my company to search and cross-reference in the future. If you are an employer and you absolutely require BOTH a pdf of my resume and cover letter that a human being can read and evaluate, AND each piece of data from those documents individually entered into your database for some other form of storage and review, then it is seriously fucking Up to You to pay some wage slave to enter the data. I'm looking for a job. I'm not going to do a job for you for fucking free, in order to become eligible for a job that you might consider paying me for later. Like please don't call me a fucking idiot to my face--or at least, if it's the database part that's the most important thing to you, do not also require me to create a nicely-formatted document containing my history and intentions. Let's just get right to the forced data entry part, let's start this awful relationship from a place of honesty at the very fucking least.

N.B. I realize that there are multiple reasons an employer would do this to a person, ranging from algorithmic candidate-sorting to just having outdated-ass job site shit in place that they don't feel like reviewing or revising. I don't really care why it's happening, I just hate that it is. Recently I tried to apply for some $15/hr part-time job at a local museum that a caveman could do, and I stopped cold when I realized I had to transcribe every detail of the documents I just gave them into this bullshit backend website that looked like it was about a thousand years old. No Thank You. Currently I'm all worked up because I just applied to work at a hip, culty, local theater, and I was shocked that after completing the totally normal application routine, I received an automated email directing me to "complete your profile" as "an important part of the hiring process" on the website of the company they're outsourcing all their HR and billing stuff to. And I go look at the profile thingy, and of course it's just this needlessly complicated interface where I can individually enter each and every piece of information that I just provided in my resume--no more, no less. The theater has exactly two locations and is kind of a niche operation and it is absolutely crazy to me that they think they need to pay for this extra layer of stupidly bloated and redundant "talent acquisition" processing when they're hiring for like two or three basic ass hourly roles where half the question is going to be "have you done this normal shit before" and half will be "can we stand your personality". Nobody needs this garbage at all, least of all ME.